Inherently intertwined with mystery and action alike, the genre of spy movies allows for pulse-pounding thrills and intense emotion all at once. Several of these great films are even able to supersede the quality of many James Bond movies, with number one being arguably the greatest action film ever made.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
One of the most exciting spy pastiches that released in the 2010s was Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service. Adapting a Mark Millar comic that would spawn several Kingsman movies in a shared universe, this first entry was by far the most beloved, introducing Eggsy into an exciting world of spycraft.
Taron Egerton and Colin Firth share great chemistry, and Samuel L. Jackson chews up the scenery in his turn as the villainous Richmond Valentine. With a strong supporting cast that includes Mark Strong, Sofia Boutella, and Michael Caine, the film contains a surprising amount of prestige considering its pulpy execution.
With cool gadgets, unexpected twists, and exciting fights, Kingsman is one of the most Bond-like entries on this list that feels like an update to the Roger Moore era. While some elements of the film are a little too ribald, and while the franchise failed to live up to the precedent of the first film, Kingsman is exceedingly fun entertainment.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
A film that has gained much more popularity in the years following its release, this Henry Cavill-starring adaptation of the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an extraordinary spy film that contains many of the hallmarks of director Guy Ritchie’s incredible style.
Set during the Cold War, and pairing a CIA agent with a member of the KGB, the film’s odd couple setup adds humor and tension to an intriguing partnership. With a supporting cast that includes Elizabeth Debicki, Alicia Vikander, and Hugh Grant, it is disappointing that the film was not able to find its audience on its initial release.
Henry Cavill movies are best when they lean hard on the actor’s charisma, and this one did that in spades, giving the Man of Steel star some great style and action sequences. With this, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. remains an eminently rewatchable film that deserved better than it got.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Releasing only a few weeks after the first James Bond movie, The Manchurian Candidate told a very different kind of spy story. Starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Janet Leigh, the film told the story of Raymond Shaw, a brainwashed sleeper agent set up to assassinate a presidential nominee.
With tensions high from the Cuban Missile Crisis, the film felt especially topical upon release, and played off of the paranoia that had already been instilled in Western audiences. Featuring a powerful script, and strong performances, the film remains one of the best spy films ever made.
While firmly rooted in its own time period, there remains much to enjoy from The Manchurian Candidate today, although many of the other films on this list have utilized its ideas and style to even better results.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Kathryn Bigelow followed up her Academy Award-winning The Hurt Locker with this taut 2012 political spy thriller. Zero Dark Thirty starred Jessica Chastain as a CIA analyst working to locate Osama bin Laden following the September 11 attacks in 2001. The film was nominated for a slew of Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Bigelow’s character Maya was a fictionalized composite of several real-life figures, but the film itself felt extremely grounded. Steeped in realism, the character’s CIA background was a compelling focus on the film, and didn’t shy away from showing the darker, more questionable sides of spycraft.
An important American story, Zero Dark Thirty is among Bigelow’s best films. While the film was a decent success, it was eclipsed by another political spy thriller that was released that very same year, which will be discussed shortly.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Jason Bourne is one of the most beloved characters in cinema, and for good reason. The character, played by Matt Damon, was initially featured in a series of Robert Ludlum adaptations, where each installment built on the strengths of the last, culminating in the superb The Bourne Ultimatum.
Paul Greengrass directed stellar action, including several stellar and visceral fight scenes. All of this contributed impeccably to Bourne’s story, setting up a powerful conclusion to the trilogy, and giving satisfying answers to virtually all of the lingering questions from the previous films.
Ultimatum is an excellent entry in the spy genre, but it does not wholly stand on its own, building off the previous entries in the series. Still, it left audiences wanting even more Jason Bourne movies. While the follow-ups have never quite reached the heights of Ultimatum, they have all at least been entertaining.
Argo (2012)
The only film on this list to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, director Ben Affleck’s Argo is a compelling true story full of entertaining Hollywood satire. A spy film for people who love movies, Argo told the story of Tony Mendez, who posed as a Hollywood producer to rescue several refugees in Iran between 1979 and 1980.
Affleck himself starred as the real-life spy, and his performance was excellent. Backed by an equally strong cast that included Alan Arkin and John Goodman, the film is an extremely entertaining and unusual entry in the spy genre.
Complex, tense, and telling a true story that itself is hard to believe really happened, Argo remains a must-see entry in the spy canon.
Three Days Of the Condor (1975)
A solid thriller bolstered by a great performance by Robert Redford, Three Days of the Condor taps into the post-Watergate tensions of 1975’s America with powerful realism. Grounded in intrigue rather than action, the film is a thrilling look at what happens when things go wrong at the CIA.
Released in a time when distrust of government was high, the film was an effective contrast to the Bond films of the era. In theaters between The Man with the Golden Gun and The Spy who Loved Me, Condor was a different breed of spy film with a more intellectual bent.
With a bookish lead character, and sparse on action, the film was able to tell an effective and thoughtful story that resonates well even to this day. It remains one of the late Robert Redford’s best movies.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
One of the best writers in the spy genre has been John le Carré, and the adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is among the best spy films ever made. Influenced by le Carré’s time working in MI5 and MI6, his stories are deeply steeped in realism and moral ambiguity, allowing for darker stories.
An installment in the George Smiley series of novels, Tinker Tailor transitions to the screen immaculately. Loaded with tension, written with great care, and featuring a cast of all-star actors, including Gary Oldman as Smiley, there are few spy pictures that contain nearly as much prestige.
A deep contrast to the stories told in James Bond films, Tinker Tailor grounds the genre in surprising realism, to fantastic results. The film received three Academy Award nominations, including one for its adapted screenplay.
North By Northwest (1959)
The only film on this list to predate the release of the first James Bond film Dr. No, Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest is one of the famed director’s best. Suspenseful, romantic, and exciting all at once, the film tapped into real Cold War tensions with great style that helped to craft the genre.
The film was an enormous smash in its time and topped the box office for seven weeks. Star Cary Grant’s debonair style seemed to craft the cinematic ideal for a spy, which would go on to influence both James Bond films as well as other spy stories.
Sitting on many lists of the best movies ever made, North by Northwest is an important cultural artifact in addition to being a genuinely fun piece of entertainment. Many consider it to be the greatest spy film ever made, but there is an argument for one more recent entry.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
If there has ever been a better spy on the big screen than James Bond, it has been Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, and Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the high watermark of his storied cinematic career. Beginning with an efficient setup, the film quickly moves into setpiece after setpiece, crafting one of the most exciting stories ever told.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is among the best action movies of all time, as well as those in the spy genre, and perhaps even just in the larger cinematic canon. The film gives emotion to Ethan Hunt’s journey that builds off of the previous films, but never feels tired or stale.
Spreading the film’s high-octane story out against breathtaking sequences, including a motorcycle chase through Paris, and a tense HALO jump filmed in real time, makes the film even more powerful.
All of this works because, like with James Bond, audiences have grown to love the Ethan Hunt character. Like in virtually any genre, spy stories only work so long as audiences care about the people wrapped up in these tense situations. Wrapped in exciting stakes, the spy movie genre is one that will surely persist for many years to come.
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